Our Broken Garden - When Your Blackening Shows

Our Broken Garden is Anna Broendsted, sometime member of Efterklang, who follows up her celebrated Sailor EP with this album released through Bella Union. It’s an album full of sweeping, organic arrangements, recalling Cat Power from years back and a minimalism often associated with Scandinavian folk.

Broendsted’s voice and composition evokes a sense of isolationism and vulnerability which really does stir you up, but the whole album can be a little bit too much for one listen. I could happily listen on a Sunday morning with a pounding head, but putting the album on when you’re having a house party on a Friday night would be certain to see your guests either going on a serious downer or heading for the door.

The subdued sound that has been created on this album is perfect if you like your music to have some real sincerity about it. Broenstead’s vocal complements the subtleties of the music to deliver well-rounded and polished songs. Maybe spread across a couple of EPs, this would have been complete perfection, but a full album can become quite overbearing towards the end, leaving you with a tremendous amount of doom and self doubt in your soul, but maybe that’s what Broendsted is aiming for. The fragile delivery and foreboding feeling that tears are coming soon runs throughout this album. All in all an emotive piece that takes you very close to the edge.

4/5


NARC. is currently available in all good record shops, pubs, practice rooms etc. etc. View more information on NARC. magazine, including outlets, at their MySpace, and at their website.